Deceitful Choices by CA Harms

I have been a huge fan of CA Harms for a long time and have read everything she has written and every time I finish a book I am silently thrilled that, that was “my favourite so far” and this was no different. As a book, this didn’t just stand alone…no, it stood out!

It brought so much into play that at times it was a little too fast and as quickly as I can and usually do ready this author work, I deliberately slowed myself down with this, I became involved.

One night, that was all it took to shape Lindsay’s future, a chance encounter with Zack while on a girl’s getaway lead to two life altering events.

The proverbial little white lie by Lindsay, that when revealed the following morning by Haven (an out and out b**ch) resulted in the swift departure of Zack from her life. I understood his situation after all Lindsay had taken a decision that for him could have been catastrophic. But when he walked out, he didn’t know it at the time but his connection to her was not over, they would have a relationship albeit perhaps not the one either of them had planned and it would be one that would last a lifetime.

I understood Lindsay, I thought that given the home life she had, she was a fabulous character, she did what she needed to be to grow up better than the example she was set by her parents, they were repulsive, they didn’t deserve her and when she really needed them, it was obvious that they  were never going to be there for her, but then again she didn’t really expect them to be, why would they change the habit of a lifetime and give a s**t about her, luckily she had an amazing friend and a grandmother that she could turn too.

With a backbone that must have been forged from steel, she left town and never looked back, she made plans, took decisions and created the life that she wanted, it might have not been exactly as she had planned but she handled it with such strength and determination, if I hadn’t already adored her I would have quickly changed my mind.

Lindsay washed her hands of her parents but did everything she could to keep in touch with her friend and she all tried to do the right thing when she tried to reach out and find Zack, only to be re-buffed or at least she thought she had, because later in the story when the true extent of the deceit that had been orchestrated to keep her and Zack apart is brought to light, the deception was staggering.

Zack was a wonderful guy and in many ways he was as much a victim as Lindsay was but the minute he realises what is going on there is no doubt in his mind what he has to do and he stops at nothing to make sure he makes up for the time he has missed.

I loathed Haven, the spiteful witch that she was, I was so angry with her, her malice and deceit was pathological, should Zack have seen through her lies, yep probably but he had no benchmark with which to judge her, she was a master at playing a cruel game.

The story was packed with angst, from the get-go there was an undercurrent of attitude that was difficult to escape, the hurt that Lindsay felt when her parents showed their true colours, the hurt that Zack felt when he found out how Lindsay had lied, the hurt that Lindsay felt when she realised that she was truly on her own, the hurt that Zack felt when the seriousness of the situation sunk in, the hurt that they both felt when they realised what Haven had done and the hurt that lost time had foisted on them.

But as much as this was riddled with pain it was also an honest look at consequences, at the snowball effect of one tiny slip of the tongue. The author packed the story, as only she can with a plethora of amazing characters but she makes sure that it was Zack and Lindsay that shone, they faced their time both apart and together with an individual strength that was admirable but once they had the opportunity to correct the mistakes of the past they really came into their own, they were stronger together, a bond forged that was unbreakable.

Oh and the way they handle Haven…. priceless!